Chilecito is a city in the

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and N� ...

, and head of the

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Chilecito Chilecito is a city in the Argentine province of La Rioja, and head of the department of Chilecito. Overview The city is located in the valley formed by the ''Sierras de Velazco'' to the east, and the ''Sierras de Famatina'' to the west. The c ...

Overview

The city is located in the valley formed by the ''Sierras de Velazco'' to the east, and the ''Sierras de Famatina'' to the west. The city was founded in 1715 by

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

colonizers. Chilecito still preserves the cable-car of ''La Mejicana'' mine built by

Bleichert Bleichert, short for Adolf Bleichert & Co., was a German engineering firm founded in 1874 by Adolf Bleichert. The company dominated the aerial wire ropeway industry during the first half of the 20th century, and its portfolio included cranes, el ...

which is part of the city mining past that saw its peak at the end of the 19th century. Chilecito is surrounded by an oasis of irrigation, which has been expanded by way of supplements from underground waters. A great part of agricultural land is used for the cultivation of vineyards because the most significant industrial activity is based in wine-cellars. Walnut and fruit trees are also cultivated and their product is locally processed. The Argentine educator, lawyer, senator, governor and historian

Joaquín V. González Joaquín Víctor González (March 6, 1863 – December 21, 1923) was an Argentine educator, political scientist, writer, magistrate, and politician. Biography Early life González was born in Nonogasta, a rural community near Chilecito, ...

was raised in the vicinity of Chilecito. He also used to spend his vacation in a home that he built here in his later years. The property, which he called ''

Samay Huasi Samay Huasi (from Quechua ''Samay Wasi'', ''samay'' rest, to rest, ''wasi'' house,Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Diccionario Bilingüe Iskay simipi yuyayk'ancha, La Paz, 2007 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary) "rest house") is a historic property in Argentina f ...

'' (

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

''Samay Wasi'', "rest house") was donated to the

University of La Plata The La Plata National University ( es, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, UNLP) is one of the most important Argentine national universities and the biggest one situated in the city of La Plata, capital of Buenos Aires Province. It has over 90, ...

for use as an artists' retreat. By the end of the 1990s, the university of Chilecito which was still part of the

National University of La Rioja The National University of La Rioja ( es, Universidad Nacional de La Rioja, UNLAR) is an Argentine national university, situated in the city of La Rioja, capital of La Rioja Province. Its precursor, the Provincial University of La Rioja, was ...

became the National University of Chilecito. This decision was highly criticized by different academic and political sectors, especially those concerning to the

President of Argentina The president of Argentina ( es, Presidente de Argentina), officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation ( es, Presidente de la Nación Argentina), is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Ar ...

at the time,

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. H ...

Population

According to statistics, Chilecito had 49,453 inhabitants (data taken from the ) which represents a 31% population increase in ten years (there were 22,485 inhabitants in 1991). These numbers include the nearby localities of Anguinán, Los Sarmientos, San Miguel and La Puntilla; without them, the population of Chilecito in 2001 was 25,423 inhabitants.

Climate

Remarkable people

* Juan Ramires de Velasco *

, née Joaquín Víctor González * Mateo Rosas de Oquendo * Julián Amatte * Doña Nocenta Pizetta * Francisco Antonio Ortiz de Ocampo * Domingo de Castro y Bazán * Sarmiento de la Vega * Isabel Ibarra y Velasco de Sarmiento de la Vega * Arturo Marasso * Gabino Coria Peñaloza

References

{{Authority control Populated places in La Rioja Province, Argentina Populated places established in 1715 1715 establishments in the Spanish Empire